The

Mathematics of
Our World
Mathematics in the Modern World
Module 1: Lesson 1.2
Engr. Dianne Yspher H. Habal
S
PATTERNS
N
The mathematics in our world is rooted
in patterns. Patterns
A

RE

are all around us. With

TT

patterns, we can
discover and
understand new predict and ultimately
things; we learn to control the future
S
for our own advantage.
P

N
A pattern is a structure, form, or design
TT

RE

that is regular,
A

consistent, or
recurring. Patterns can or in abstract ideas.
be found in nature, in They occur in different
human-made designs,contexts
S
and various forms.
P

Because patterns are repetitive and

N

duplicative, their underlying structure

R

regularities can be modeled

mathematically. E

In general sense, any regularity that can be T

investigation of nature’s
explained
T

patterns is an
mathematically is a
pattern. Thus, an
A

investigation of nature’s
S
numbers. P

N
This means that the relationships can be
observed, that logical connections can be R
ETT
generalizations can be
inferred, that future
events can be predicted,
and that control can
AP

possibly be possible.
established, that

DIFFERENT
KINDS OF
PATTERN
Paradoxically, it seemed
that everything in the
world follows a pattern of
their own and tamed by
the same time pattern of
their own.

PATTERNS OF VISUALS
Visual patterns are often
unpredictable, never quite
repeatable, and often contain
fractals. These patterns are can be
seen from the seeds and pinecones
to the branches and leaves.
PATTERNS OF FLOW
The flow of liquids provides an
inexhaustible supply of nature’s patterns.
These patterns are usually found in the
water, stone, and even in the growth of
trees. There is also a flow pattern present
in meandering rivers with the repetition of
undulating lines.

PATTERNS OF MOVEMENT
This prevalence of pattern in
locomotion extends to the scuttling
of insects, the flights of birds, the
pulsations of jellyfish, and also the
wave-like movements of fish, worms,
and snakes.

PATTERNS OF RHYTHM
Rhythm is conceivably the most
basic pattern in nature. Our hearts
and lungs follow a regular repeated
pattern of sounds or movement
whose timing is adapted to our
body’s needs.

PATTERNS OF RHYTHM
Many of nature’s rhythms are most
likely similar to a heartbeat, while
others are like breathing. The
beating of the heart, as well as
breathing, have a default pattern.

PATTERNS OF TEXTURE
A texture is a quality of a certain
object that we sense through touch.
It exists as a literal surface that we
can feel, see, and imagine. Textures
are of many kinds. It can be bristly,
and rough, but it can also be
smooth, cold, and hard.

GEOMETRIC
PATTERNSThese are a kind of
pattern which consist of series of shapes
that are typically repeated. These are
regularities in the natural world that are
repeated in a predictable manner.
Geometrical patterns are usually visible
on cacti and succulents.
PATTERNS
FOUND IN
NATURE
Common patterns appear in
nature, just like what we see when
we look closely at plants, flowers,
animals, and even at our bodies.
These common patterns are all
incorporated in many natural
things.

WAVES AND DUNES

A wave is any form of disturbance
that carries energy as it moves.
Waves are of different kinds:
mechanical waves, wind waves,
water waves and, ripple patterns
and dunes.

MECHANICAL
WAVES
Mechanical waves which
propagate through a medium
like air or water, making it
oscillate as waves pass by.

WIND WAVES
Wind waves, on the other hand,
are surface waves that create
the chaotic patterns of the sea.

WATER
WAVESSimilarly, water
waves are created by energy
passing through water causing
it to move in a circular motion.

RIPPLE PATTERNS
AND DUNES
Likewise, ripple patterns and
dunes are formed by sand wind
as they pass over the sand.
SPOTS AND STRIPES
We can see patterns like spots on
the skin of a giraffe. On the other
hand, stripes are visible on the skin
of a zebra.

SPOTS AND STRIPES

Patterns like spots and stripes that
are commonly present in different
organisms are results of a
reaction-diffusion system.

SPOTS AND STRIPES

The size and the shape of the
pattern depend on how fast the
chemicals diffuse and how strongly
they interact.

SPIRALS
The spiral patterns exist on the scale of
the cosmos to the minuscule forms of
microscopic animals on earth. The Milky
Way that contains our Solar System is a
barred spiral galaxy with a band of
bright stars emerging from the center
running across the middle of it.

SPIRALS
Spiral patterns are also common and
noticeable among plants and some
animals. Spirals appear in many plants
such as pinecones, pineapples, and
sunflowers. On the other hand, animals
like ram and kudu also have spiral
patterns on their horns.

SYMMETRIES
In mathematics, if a figure can be
folded or divided into two with two
halves which are the same, such
figure is called a symmetric figure.
Symmetry has a vital role in pattern
formation.

SYMMETRIES
It is used to classify and organize
information about patterns by
classifying the motion or
deformation of both pattern
structures and processes.

SYMMETRIES
There are many kinds of symmetry,
and the most important ones are
reflections, rotations, and
translations. These kinds of
symmetries are less formally called
flips, turns, and slides.

REFLECTION
SYMMETRY
These are sometimes called line
symmetry or mirror symmetry,
captures symmetries when the left
half of a pattern is the same as the
right half.

ROTATIONS
These are also known as rotational
symmetry, captures symmetries when it
still looks the same after some rotation
(of less than one full turn). The degree of
rotational symmetry of an object is
recognized by the number of distinct
orientations in which it looks the same
for each rotation.

TRANSLATIONS
This is another type of symmetry.
Translational symmetry exists in
patterns that we see in nature and in
man-made objects. Translations
acquire symmetries when units are
repeated and turn out having identical
figures, like the bees’ honeycomb with
hexagonal tiles.

SYMMETRIES
IN NATURE
From the structure of subatomic
particles to that of the entire
universe, symmetry is present. The
presence of symmetries in nature
does not only attract our visual
sense, but also plays an integral
and prominent role in the way our
life works.

HUMAN BODY
The human body is one of the
pieces of evidence that there is
symmetry in nature. Our body
exhibits bilateral symmetry. It can
be divided into two identical
halves.

ANIMAL
MOVEMENT
The symmetry of motion is
present in animal movements.
When animals move, we can
see that their movements also
exhibit symmetry.

SUNFLOWER
One of the most interesting
things about a sunflower is that
it contains both radial and
bilateral symmetry.

SUNFLOWER
What appears to be"petals" in
the outer ring are actually small
flowers also known as ray
florets. These small flowers are
bilaterally symmetrical.

SUNFLOWER
On the other hand, the dark
inner ring of the sunflower is a
cluster of radially symmetrical
disk florets.

SNOWFLAKES
Snowflakes have six-fold radial
symmetry. The ice crystals that
make-up the snowflakes are
symmetrical or patterned.

SNOWFLAKESThe
intricate shape of a single arm
of a snowflake is very much
similar to the other arms. This
only proves that symmetry is
present in a snowflake.

HONEYCOMBS
OR BEEHIVE
Honeycombs or beehives are
examples of wallpaper symmetry.
This kind of symmetry is created
when a pattern is repeated until it
covers a plane.

HONEYCOMBS
OR BEEHIVE
Beehives are made of walls with
each side having the same size
enclosed with small hexagonal
cells. Inside these cells, honey and
pollen are stored and bees are
raised.

STARFISH
Starfish have a radial fivefold
symmetry. Each arm portion of the
starfish is identical to each of the
other regions.

FIBONACCI IN
NATURE
FIBONACCI IN NATURE
By learning about nature, it
becomes gradually evident that the
nature is essentially mathematical,
and this is one of the reasons why
explaining nature is dependent on
mathematics. Mathematics has the
power to unveil the inherent beauty
of the natural world.

FIBONACCI IN NATURE
In describing the amazing variety of
phenomena in nature we stumble to
discover the existence of Fibonacci
numbers. It turns out that the
Fibonacci numbers appear from the
smallest up to the biggest objects in
the natural world.

FIBONACCI IN
NATURE
This presence of Fibonacci numbers
in nature, which was once existed
realm mathematician’s curiously, is
considered as one of the biggest
mysteries why the some patterns in
nature is Fibonacci.

FIBONACCI IN
NATURE
For instance, many flowers display
figures adorned with numbers of
petals that are in the Fibonacci
sequence. The classic five-petal
flowers are said to be the most
common among them. These
include the buttercup, columbine,
and hibiscus.

FIBONACCI IN
NATURE
Aside from those flowers with five
petals, eight-petal flowers like
clematis and delphinium also
have the Fibonacci numbers,
while ragwort and marigold have
thirteen. These numbers are all
Fibonacci numbers.

FIBONACCI IN NATURE
Apart from the counts of flower
petals, the Fibonacci also occurs
in nautilus shells with a logarithmic
spiral growth. Multiple Fibonacci
spirals are also present in pineapples
and red cabbages. The patterns are
all consistent and natural.

FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE
FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE
The Fibonacci sequence is one
of the most famous formulas in
mathematics. It is believed to be
discovered or"invented" by
Leonardo Fibonacci.

LEONARDO FIBONACCI
He also known as Leonardo Bonacci,
Leonardo of Pisa, or Leonardo Bigollo
Pisano ('Leonardo the Traveller from Pisa').
He was an Italian mathematician from the
Republic of Pisa, considered to be"the
most talented Western mathematician of
the Middle Ages".

FIBONACCI
SEQUENCE
Each number in the sequence is the
sum of the two numbers that
precede it. So, the sequence goes: 0,
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on.

The mathematical equation

describing it is Xn+2= Xn+1 +
Xn
SEQUENCE
Sequence refers to an ordered list of numbers
called terms, that may have repeated values. The
arrangement of these terms is set by a definite rule.

SEQUENCE
It is called sequence because the list is ordered and
it follows a certain kind of pattern that must be
recognized in order to see the expanse. The three
dots at the end of the visible patterns means that
the sequence is infinite.
SEQUENCE
There are different types of sequence and the
most common are the arithmetic sequence,
geometric sequence, harmonic sequence, and
Fibonacci sequence.
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE
It is a sequence of numbers that follows a definite
pattern. To determine if the series of numbers
follow an arithmetic sequence, check the
difference between two consecutive terms.

GEOMETRIC SEQUENCE
If in the arithmetic sequence we need to check for the
common difference, in geometric sequence we need to
look for the common ratio.

HARMONIC SEQUENCE
In the sequence, the reciprocal of the terms behaved in
a manner like arithmetic sequence. With this pattern, the
reciprocal appears like arithmetic sequence. Only in
recognizing the appearance that we can finally decode
the sequencing the govern the series.

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
He discovered the sequence while he was studying
rabbits. The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers
governed by some unusual arithmetic rule. The
sequence is organized in a way a number can be
obtained by adding the two previous numbers.

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
Formula for computing for the nth term in the Fibonacci
Sequence:
Where:
Xₙ stands for the Fibonacci number we’re looking for
N stands for the position of the number in the
Fibonacci sequence
Φ stands for the value of the golden ratio

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
Let us try for example: What is the 5th Fibonacci
number? By using the formula we’ll get:
FIBONACCI SEQUENCE
Let us try for example: What is the 5th Fibonacci
number? By using the formula we’ll get:
GOLDEN RECTANGLE
The amazing grandeur of Fibonacci sequence was
also discovered in the structure of Golden
rectangle. The golden rectangle is made up of
squares whose sizes, surprisingly is also behaving
similar to the Fibonacci sequence.

GOLDEN RECTANGLE
GOLDEN RECTANGLE
As we can see in the figure, there is no complexity in forming a
spiral with the use of the golden rectangle starting from one of
the sides of the first Fibonacci square going to the edges of
each of the next squares.
GOLDEN RECTANGLE
This golden rectangle shows that the Fibonacci sequence is not
only about sequence of numbers of some sort but it is also a
geometric sequence observing a rectangle ratio.
GOLDEN RECTANGLE
The spiral line generated by the ratio is generously scattered
around from infinite to infinitesimal.